


Wake Me Up Now

by patronus



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Superpowers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2019-10-15 17:26:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17533067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/patronus/pseuds/patronus
Summary: Maybe they aren't as alone in their experiences as they thought.--Random collection of moments from individuals who don't fit into the mold of being "regular."





	1. Moment 1

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, I don't have a real plan with this or where this is going, but I want to share it as I continue to build this world. That being said - this is a Jaehyun/Jungwoo centered fic, however other ships will appear (Yuta/Sicheng, Mark/Donghyuck, etc), they just won't be the main ship (unless I feel so inspired later on).
> 
> If you do read this, thank you so much.
> 
> not beta-ed, sorry.

Jungwoo is on the fourth floor of the library -- the quiet study area -- when he feels it. A wave of fear and anxiety washes over him and he can feel the adrenaline rush kicking in. It's been a long time since he's felt someone else's emotions so strongly before.  
  
He takes out his earphones and looks around the room discreetly, trying to see if anyone looks to be immediately in trouble or if there's any sound of distress in the distance, but everyone is buried into their books and laptops. Jungwoo feels around the room to see how everyone is feeling, but it all seems to be normal levels of stress and tiredness that come from being the school library.  
  
Except for one student.  
  
Jungwoo's feelings narrow down on a sleeping student across the room next to the window. The student is wearing a grey hoodie and while Jungwoo can't make out their face, he can see their hand gripped into a tight fist upon the table. He sighs. As much as he's learned to ignore other's emotions there are still a few times that he finds himself in a place where it's hard to ignore them.  
  
He gets up and gathers his stuff before walking calmly to the table where the other student is. The seat open next to him is fortunately open and he sits down quietly. From here he can see the other student has dyed brown hair. He has a dimple on his check which is noticeable as his expressions display distress even in his deep sleep. Jungwoo looks around quickly to make sure no one is looking before moving his hand over the other's tight fist. Not close enough to touch, but enough that he can focus his energy on to the other.  
  
Jungwoo takes a deep breath before releasing calming energy the other student's way. Not even a moment later, he feels something snap and finds himself staring into the dark brown eyes of the other. He can feel the confusion and slight fear radiating off of the other. But it's a different fear now. This fear is primal, protective. There's an underlying sense of guilt, even though there's nothing to be guilty of. If anything, Jungwoo is the one who should feel guilty for prying into the other's emotions.  
  
But what would he say if he were to apologize? _"Sorry for sort of hovering over you, I just have this ability to feel other people's emotions and yours seemed to be really bad and I just wanted to help?"_ Like that would work.  
  
But before he can even say anything, the other student is already looking away and breathing deeply. He grabs his bag and stuffs his phone into his pocket and is already halfway across the room before Jungwoo could even process what just happened.  
  
A few moments later he settles into the seat no longer on edge with another person's heightened emotions. But before he could turn his laptop back on, something catches his eye on the seat next to him.  
  
A student ID.  
  
He looks over his shoulder but the other isn't in the room any longer and by now he'd be on the elevator or going down the stairs, too far for Jungwoo to be able to catch up fast enough. He grabs the ID and looks over it. The face of the sleeping student looks back at him and his name stands out boldly: Jung Jaehyun. Jungwoo puts the ID aside for now and makes a mental note to return it to the front desk later with a note. As much as he'd like to apologize for the strange meeting in person, he'd rather not embarrass himself again.  
  
Hopefully he won't run into Jaehyun again. It's a big enough campus, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you want to talk:  
> [twt](https://twitter.com/xyoonoh) || [cc](https://curiouscat.me/xyoonoh)


	2. Moment 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not beta-ed. will come back later this week if there's any noticeable grammar errors.

"Bro, you okay?"

Jaehyun shuts the door to his apartment behind him and turns to see Yuta laying across the couch, leaving no room for Taeyong who's seated in front of the coffee table scrolling through Netflix.

Yuta's looking at him with a semi-concerned look as he takes in Jaehyun's pale complexion. Releasing his grip on the doorknob, Jaehyun just shrugs.

"Fell asleep in the library and had a bad dream, I'll be alright." Yuta stare lingers before he nods slightly, accepting the answer, and turns to see what Taeyong is looking at on his screen. Jaehyun takes the chance to go to his room for a moment.

He drops his backpack in his desk chair before throwing himself onto his bed. However, he doesn't risk making himself too comfortable in fear of falling asleep again.

_Fear_. That's what he remembers from the bizarre dream he had. The thing is, Jaehyun’s had weird dreams as long as he can remember. It wasn’t uncommon for him to realize that he’s in a dream as soon as it starts and even control it. He learned this skill to be called lucid dreaming one night, searching on the internet to see if this was a common thing. And while it wasn’t uncommon, it didn’t happen to everyone that often either.

His issue wasn’t the fact that he could lucid dream that he was concerned about. It’s the fact that his dreams didn’t entirely seem like they were his own. Too often he’d find himself closing his eyes and opening somewhere completely unfamiliar, surrounded by people he doesn’t recognize. He always feels off in these dreams, like he’s not meant to be there and there is something trying to push him out.

One of the first times he remembers feeling like this was when he was six. When he came to consciousness in his dream he was in the middle of a plaza, but it wasn’t one that he’s ever remembered seeing before. Then all at once people came rushing out of the buildings and when he would go around asking for help because he was lost and scared, they would push him away, speaking a language he couldn’t understand. Only one person in his dream gave him a chance and it was a young woman who also looked lost and confused at him as he cried to her, mumbling in Korean.

But when she reached out to help him, the dream shifted. He blinked, and suddenly he was staring up at his bedroom ceiling, tears in his eyes.

It wasn’t the first time something like that has happened, and it certainly was not the last.

Earlier in the library was one of the bad dreams. Normally Jaehyun’s careful not to fall asleep in public like that, but he let himself slip in that moment.

The dream started off relatively normally. He was in a house, the TV was playing some news station in English in the background. A woman was in front of the stove in the kitchen and he could hear the muffled talking of a man’s voice upstairs arguing with what sounded like to a be a young teenage boy. There was a tension building in the air. It wasn’t uncommon for Jaehyun to have dreams like this, especially when the pressure of school was building on him. So he just did what he normally would and sat at the table, acting like he belonged, because he learned long ago, the more he stood out, the more violent the reactions of the others in his dreams would be.

Jaehyun thought that with lucid dreaming he’d be able to control his dreams, but that didn’t always seem to be the case with him.

So as he sat, he smiled when the mother would turn around, and she smiled back, not seeming to find anything wrong with him being there. Why would she? It was his dream after all.

Then the shouting upstairs escalated, and Jaehyun immediately felt something was wrong. As the shouting grew louder, a flame appeared on the stovetop and the mother jumped back in fear. The voices grew louder, echoing in the kitchen and the flames only grew stronger. As much as the mother would shout for whoever was upstairs to come down and get out, no one would and soon smoke was filling the room.

The mother ran past Jaehyun and up the stairs and he followed, hoping to help but as soon as he got to the top the voices stopped and no one was there. In fact, nothing was there. It was like there was a blank space that his mind didn’t come up with and for some reason he couldn’t conjure anything to be there. All there was was the stairs leading down to the kitchen and the smoke was rising up and filling his lungs making it hard to breathe. He knew that he had to get out of there before he suffocated or somehow force himself to wake up. However, no matter how hard he tried he just wasn’t able to wake up. He was stuck.

Right as the panic was about to set in, something strange happened. A sense of calmness crawled over his body, like everything was going to be alright, even though things certainly were _not_. It felt wrong, yet familiar. Just like his dreams, this calmness did not feel entirely his own. Then he blinked.

In front of him was another boy, a stranger with light brown hair and nervousness in his eyes. He hand was wavering close to him and Jaehyun’s blood ran cold as he remembered where he was. Did he do something abnormal in his sleep that this other student would notice him? Before Jaehyun could think on it too long, his body worked on autopilot and he was already walking out the room, ears burning. He only realized that his student ID was missing when he was digging through his wallet after stopping by the convenience store on his way home.

Jaehyun lays in his bed, trying to take calming breaths. He’s sure no one else was looking at him when he left, so maybe it was only that student that noticed him sleeping. Maybe he was just there to wake him up. But Jaehyun couldn’t help but linger on the fear and concern he saw in the other’s eyes. Like he knew just how in distress Jaehyun was in. His thoughts also strayed to just how strange the dream was. Normally Jaehyun’s able to pull himself out of his dreams and wake himself up, but the feeling of not entirely being in control was stronger than ever. Something was off and he can’t explain what, but the crazy idea that his dreams might not actually be his own won’t escape the back of his mind.

Jaehyun pulls himself back up before he gets too lost in his thoughts. Maybe he’ll join Yuta and Taeyong in watching whatever movie they’ve finally settled on. Just as he’s closing his bedroom door, he makes a mental note to go back to the library tomorrow and see if his ID’s there still.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you're confused or have any questions feel free to ask because i'm really just developing this as i write it lol. maybe it'll help me figure out what i'm doing. 
> 
> i have a doc with every member's abilities and such and i really want to squeeze them all in later updates somehow lol (i don't have the new three's abilities yet cos i want to get to know them more first...)
> 
> if you want to talk:  
> [twt](https://twitter.com/xyoonoh) || [cc](https://curiouscat.me/xyoonoh)


	3. Moment 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: slight injury (accidental cut with blood)  
> not beta-ed

Johnny's already in the radio studio by the time Jaehyun arrives. He's seated outside of the booth waiting for the previous DJs to finish up their set, but his face is buried deep in concentration on his phone. He looks up to the sound of Jaehyun's footsteps and joy fills his face as he sees extra cup of coffee Jaehyun is holding.

“ _Oh my God, thank you_ ” Johnny says in English as he takes the precious cup from Jaehyun's hand. “I've been so busy with meetings and then reading over what we're talking about today that I left my coffee on the counter and Ten didn't have the time to drop it by earlier—"

Jaehyun raises his free hand to stop the older man. “It's okay, anything for my favorite hyung, just be careful it’s super hot,” he says shooting him a smile and Johnny just responds by pushing him slightly before gesturing for him to sit.

One of the radio show producers is bustling around in the background, organizing some paperwork for a later segment to the show. Jaehyun just sits quietly and lets the sound of the current music playing was over him as he tries to relax. Next to him, Johnny is also quiet, still looking at his phone, but now pausing to take a sip from the cup every so often.

“You know,” Johnny says suddenly, startling Jaehyun a bit, “you don’t have to guest on the show if your schedule is packed. It’s midterms right now, isn’t it?” Jaehyun’s quiet sigh is all Johnny needs before continuing. “You’re coming up on your last semester next year, I can handle doing this on my own. After all, this is my own ‘big boy job’ as you called it when I first started.”

Jaehyun shrugs. “I like being here, hyung,” he starts. “It’s nothing I can’t handle; besides, I need to make money somehow. I can’t rely on my parents forever.” He lets out a yawn at the end before taking a sip of his own coffee.

“Alright, but if you’re ever too tired or anything just let me and the producers know, then maybe we can figure something else out instead.”

“Thanks, man.”

As the Live light turns off and the current DJ starts packing up, he and Johnny stand up to start making their way to the booth. The producer that had been working gets up quickly to set up for their segment, accidentally knocking a coffee mug off the edge of the table with the stack of papers. It crashes harshly against the floor, leaving the pieces scattered and water spilled all over.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” she says panicked. Johnny hands his coffee cup to Jaehyun before making his way to her.

“It’s okay,” he says calmly, making sure that she’s alright. “It’s just a mug. Let’s just clean this up before starting the show, we still have plenty of time.” She nods quickly and leaves the room to find something to sweep up the mess.

Johnny squats down and starts picking up pieces as another staff member takes over setting up the program.

“Hyung,” Jaehyun starts, concerned about the sharp edges from the ceramic, “be careful. We can just wait until noona comes back so you don’t accidentally cut--.” He’s stopped by Johnny taking a harsh breath and the side of red coming from his hand. "Are you okay?" He steps closer and he can see that the cut runs across Johnny's index finger, blood slowly making its way out.

Johnny stands up quickly. "It's fine, Jaehyun, just a slight cut." But Jaehyun can see him wince slightly when he moves his fingers.

"Hyung, you need to at least disinfect it or something," Jaehyun insists.

Johnny sighs quietly and agrees before slipping out to go wash it. Just as he leaves the Producer comes back into the room with a broom and towels to clean up. Jaehyun tries to help her, but she refuses, wanting to clean up the mess that she made. After a few more seconds of trying to help, he finally leaves her alone and goes to the booth and settling into his chair.

A minute before the show is set to start, Johnny comes back into the room, not making a sound. He shows Jaehyun his hand, and Jaehyun can still see where the cut is, but there's no longer any blood. Jaehyun mouths the word "Bandaid?" at Johnny, but the older only shrugs before they're launching the start of the show.

By the end, Jaehyun is ready to go home and go to _bed._ It's been a long day and he didn't get to sleep much the night before after being awoken from a particularly rough dream. Johnny's already packed up and they thank the staff before leaving for the night. Just as they're about to part ways outside underneath a streetlight, they go in for a bro hug, hands clasped, shoulder bump and all.

After watching Johnny leave, Jaehyun's tired mind realizes something. The cut on Johnny's hand was gone. Or maybe it was just a trick of the light? Whatever, he'll think about it when he isn't two seconds away from knocking out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK. Sorry for disappearing for literally 4 months. School is a lot. My semester is ending soon and I'll be traveling a bit this summer, but I'll do my best to write when I'm avoiding the heat! I've actually had this part and the next few outlined for a long time, so the next update might come sooner rather than later :) BUT ALSO I'M REALLY EXCITED FOR SUPERHUMAN AND THE ALBUM OK SEE YOU ALL SOON HOPEFULLY.
> 
> and yes i made them bro hug, it just felt right.
> 
> if you want to talk:  
> [twt](https://twitter.com/xyoonoh) || [cc](https://curiouscat.me/xyoonoh)


	4. Moment 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not beta-ed again

"Jungwoo-yah," Doyoung calls out to him while trudging out of his room wrapped in his blanket, "can you pick me up some medicine please? I think I'm catching a cold again."  
  
Jungwoo stares at him in disbelief. "Hyung, this is the third time this year, are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine, my immune system's just shit. It’s the price I pay for stopping time to study for the all the tests I take.” He murmurs something that Jungwoo can’t completely understand but sounds suspiciously like _Can’t believe I thought law school would be a good idea._ Doyoung pinches the bridge of his nose, “Just please get me some medicine before I infect you too," he says before slowly walking back to his room.

Jungwoo sighs before getting up and grabbing his wallet and keys. Doyoung’s been studying a lot recently, and Jungwoo can tell he’s been studying longer than he says he is by the dark circles under his eyes. The feeling of stress and anxiety has been radiating off of Doyoung’s body since school’s started and Jungwoo’s done his best to send positive energy, but he can’t be there for Doyoung when he’s not in the same time loop, which seems to stretch out for hours at a time.

Doyoung is one of the few people that Jungwoo knows to have abilities as well. They’re only a few years apart and Jungwoo remembers the intense amount of fear he felt at 7 years old when he walked into 9 year old Doyoung’s house. When he prodded at his cousin later, Doyoung cried into his arms explaining how sometimes the world just _stopped_ and nobody believes him when he talks about it. Jungwoo revealed that night his own case with empathy. Since then they’ve been each other’s closest confidants.

He enters the pharmacy and goes quickly to the cold and flu aisle that he’s gotten familiar with, then promptly heads to the check out line. That’s when he feels it.

Jungwoo doesn't intend to see Jaehyun again. If anything, he's been slightly more cautious when walking around the school campus so he doesn't have to face the other man again. He dropped off the ID the other week with a simple note “Think you dropped this. Sorry for startling you, hope you feel better” and promptly avoided the library since. But it seems the universe is conspiring against him as the figure in front of him turns around slightly and he’s greeted by a familiar face.

Jungwoo has fairly good control over his abilities, able to tune most people out for the most part. The only other people he’s been able to read so immediately and intensely are others with abilities. The feeling of surprise that the other man feels runs through Jungwoo’s veins electricity. Before he can say anything, it’s the other man’s turn to go to the cash register and he can see the tight grip his has on what appears to be a bottle of melatonin. _Trouble sleeping?_ Jungwoo thinks.

He’s called to another cashier nearby and quickly pays for his stuff, seeing the stranger walking quickly away in his peripheral vision. He thanks the cashier and rushes after the other man.

“Hey!” he calls out as he exits the pharmacy, “Can you stop please?”

He sees the other tense slightly and can feel the anxiety pulsating from the stranger, but he stops nonetheless. He turns around and Jungwoo can see a dimple appear and he purses his lips. “What do you need?”

Jungwoo doesn’t hesitate. “You’re the guy from the library, right? My name’s Jungwoo.” He sees the man take a deep breath and continues. “Look I just want to apologize for the other week, I didn’t mean to freak you out or anything. I just came into the room and was looking for a seat and saw one near you, and as I noticed you seemed to be having a nightmare when you were sleeping, and I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” He said this quickly, the bag in his hand crunching under his clenched fist.

He sees the others shoulders relax.

“I’m Jaehyun,” he introduces himself finally. “I’m sorry for being so rude to you, I normally don’t act like that, but you seemed to catch me at a really off time.” Jaehyun shoots Jungwoo a tight smile. "I'm sorry if I scared or shocked you." Jungwoo can feel how sincere he is, waves of regret coming off of him. He wasn't going to hold it against the other, but he appreciates the sincerity. He also mentally notes again just how strongly he's able to sense his emotions, and his suspicions rise again, but he tries not to dwell on it too much since Jaehyun's still practically a stranger.

"I understand, again I'm sorry too." He pauses for a moment, then remembers, “Did you manage to pick up your ID?”

Jaehyun nods and Jungwoo steps forward so they aren’t such an awkward distance apart. Jungwoo notices he’s slightly taller than the other, but nothing too different. “It’s all just a big misunderstanding, I guess?” He can feel the feeling of relief was over Jaehyun. "Thanks for that by the way, it made my life a little less stressful the next day."

Jungwoo suddenly realizes he's been sending out calming vibes around them as an easy smile comes across the others face and the dimple appears once more. A voice not too different from his close friend Donghyuck's voice whispers  _Cute_ in his mind but he quickly dismisses the thought. "It's no problem, it's sort of my fault you ran off anyway." Jaehyun goes to reply, but the sound of his phone chiming from a text comes in. He checks his phone quickly, noting that it's getting close to 9pm.

**[Doyoung-hyung🐰] 8:45PM**

_You coming back soon? I think my cold is getting worse @.@_

Jungwoo huffs and pockets his phone. He looks at Jaehyun whose glancing at his own phone. "I'm sorry, I have to head back now," he says.

"Me too," Jaehyun replies. He holds up his bag, "Hopefully these will help me sleep better so there's no more library incidents."

Jungwoo chuckles slightly, and starts backing up. "See you around Jaehyun-ssi, hope you have a good night!"

"You too!" Jaehyun says back before they're both leaving in the opposite directions.

Jungwoo could be genuine content coming from the other as he heads off and smiles to himself.

 

 

When he gets home and drops the medicine on the couch next to a half asleep Doyoung.  He doesn't realize the energy he's putting out until Doyoung blinks sleepily at him. "What's got you so happy?" he asks as pries open the bag.

Jungwoo flops down next to him, grinning. "It's just a really good night, hyung."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> doyoung, time controller, stressed law student. poor boy. but also jungwoo and jaehyun met again! how will their paths cross next? (also you guys caught what johnny can do right...?)
> 
> if you want to talk:  
> [twt](https://twitter.com/xyoonoh) || [cc](https://curiouscat.me/xyoonoh)
> 
> i'm always willing to discuss other characters that haven't shown up yet also and what they can or cannot do :)


End file.
